Drag Taught me Belonging: The Bright Side of the Rainbow
By Lilith Rengstorf
I attended my first drag show last night. Funny enough, it was also the first drag show I helped put on. In my role as the freshman representative on the board of my college’s LGBTQ+ Alliance, I was helping check people in and direct drag performers to their places before their sets. With all of the negativity in the media surrounding drag shows and drag performers I wanted to talk about positivity in the drag community. Our show featured five local drag performers from the Indianapolis community and three student performers from our campus.
I will admit, I was nervous at the beginning of the night. Let’s be real, drag queens can seem slightly intimidating, but as the show went on, I got the opportunity to talk to some of them, and thank them after the show for coming out to perform for our campus community. I was able to talk to one of the professional performers who performs as a drag king. What struck me the most about our conversation was how the drag community has transformed in the last few years. For a lot of its history drag was dominated by cis gay men, however now there are communities starting for AFAB performers and trans and queer drag performers. I also got to talk to one of our student performers extensively, and they talked about drag as a way of expressing their queer gender identity.
The Alliance drag show is an annual event, and this year, the thing that we took the most pride in was having an all trans cast, and it made the night so much better. There were so many different styles of drag, from “traditional” drag, what mot people imagine a drag queen to be, to a drag king dressed as the devil. It was so diverse, so loud, and so fun. I got back to my room after cleaning up and taking down decorations and was just so happy. I loved getting to be a part of this amazing performance, and to get to be around these amazing performers. Drag is such a beautiful way that so many people express their queer identity, and because of this the drag community is such a supportive environment.
I realize that this small drag show isn’t representative of the entire drag scene, but it was a great intro to drag for someone that has never been to any drag events in their life. This experience has sparked a love of drag performances in me, and whenever I’m able to, I will definitely be attending drag shows throughout Indianapolis. This was such an amazing and eye opening experience for me, I highly encourage anyone who is able to go to local drag shows, support local drag performers. Follow them on social media, attend their shows, bring tips to the shows, and just overall get involved! Drag has a long and rich history in the queer community, so why not be a part of that history?
About the Author:
Lilith Rengstorf is from Northwest Indiana, and recently graduated from Valpo High School. She will be attending Butler University for Biology in the fall. Lilith uses she/they pronouns and has been publicly out as bisexual for around two years. In their free time Lilith enjoys reading, sewing, and knitting.
About the Series:
‘The Bright Side of the Rainbow’ is a series written by Matthew’s Place author, Lilith Rengstorf. In the face of constant negativity, this series highlights queer positivity. Lillith discusses what makes her grateful to be queer, from drag shows to a special kind of joy only LGBTQ+ people can feel. Follow along on our journey!
